


He loved her, who stopped loving him and loved a different guy who wasn't in the story

by rlbelliboni



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: 5sos fanfiction, Calum is a cutie pie, Daddy!Calum, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Freeform, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Kids, Lawyers, Love Triangles, Malum - Freeform, Malum drama, One Shot, Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy, daddy!michael, malum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 01:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4686785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rlbelliboni/pseuds/rlbelliboni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Just because he’s your blood doesn’t mean you’re the father, at least not in the way you should!” Calum said louder than he expected, your heart skipped a beat and you could hear Michael’s gasp, not moving further you continued to listen Calum’s rant</p>
<p>or the one where Michael had a kid and Calum took his role as a father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He loved her, who stopped loving him and loved a different guy who wasn't in the story

**Author's Note:**

> So this idea came to me a while ago, and it took a me a bit of time to write, but it's finally here, i hope you enjoy it :3 (please don't hate me if this sucks and i'm sorry for the grammar mistakes)

You and Michael dated for a long time, when things got too much you two parted ways but maintained your friendship, at least in theory.  
One week after the break up you discovered that you were pregnant. You told Michael, who told to the rest of the band, who told to their parents that you were expecting Michael's baby. He said he'd be there if you needed, but you did nothing more than exchanging a few calls and sent some pictures from your ultrasounds. 

________________________________________

There you were one year later, your baby boy being the living memory of you and Michael’s relationship, carrying his big green eyes, a soft red hair and a milk-white skin. He was everything you’ve dreamt of.  
Michael hasn't visited the kid yet, but in the other hand, Calum always found a little time to come over and play with the little Joshua, between all the other three boys, you and Calum were the closest ones and he made sure to actually be there for you whenever you needed.  
It was almost 7PM, Joshua was still playing in his walker, making you laugh whenever he bumped into something; you lived in a medium sized house that was more than enough for you and your baby boy to live comfortably. The doorbell rang, you made your way quickly to the door not wanting to leave the kid alone for too long, opening it you were greeted by Daryl and Karen with big smiles on their faces and a shy Michael trying to make himself smaller behind them  
"Hello darling!" Karen smiled up at you pulling you for a small hug, followed by Daryl, both of them moved inside while you shifted in your place, Michael moved closer, both of his hands stuffed into his jacket's pocket; and a misplaced "hi" was exchanged between you two while he followed his parents inside the house.

________________________________________

You took the lead and showed them around a bit when you heard a small whining coming from the TV room, your heart started to pound as panic took over your face, you made your way to the room and took the toddler in your arms, his arms instantly wrapping around your neck and he hid his face on the crook of your neck, you patted his small back and started to say how everything was okay.  
You felt a hand on your waist as Karen approached you, caressing the baby's red cheeks, staring deeply into his eyes. Daryl and Michael came around you, the baby's father keeping a distance between you and him  
"Oh he's beautiful!" Karen said, her voice full of emotion, hands coming to grip her husband arms while she completed with a small "our grandson is beautiful"   
Michael shifted in his place visibly uncomfortable, trying to get used to the whole situation, his eyes scanning the room looking all the portraits you had scattered around it  
"Is that... Calum…?" He asked pointing to a picture of Calum and the baby when it was just 7 months old stuck in a baby blue frame that said "My Favorite Uncle" with goofy letters; you put Joshua back on his walker and he immediately started to wander around the room again, you smiled at the picture  
"Yeah, Cal... He's been great to us, he calls all the time, he visits Josh a lot, and he helps a lot too" you said without hesitating, Michael's eyes bored into ours with a scowl, Karen and Daryl watching the development of the story nodding their heads   
"So you two...?" Daryl questioned, trying to sound as casual as he could

"What? No!!" You rejected  
"Cal is just Josh's uncle, he does everything an uncle do...." you tried to explain, the truth is that Calum has been doing everything Michael said he would, and you could see that   
the boy was now regretting that his best friend has been more present in his son's life than he, the father, has. 

A small talk was started, Karen asking about work and reassuring you that if you ever need help she will be there, and you chuckled because the words sounded familiar, you explained how you were now working at home, and your family has helped you with some extra money to afford everything Joshua needed along with Calum. A comfortable silence fell in the room, Michael finally getting closer to his kid, sitting on the floor, picking a toy to play with the red haired kid, a small smile on his lips as the kid giggled with the sight of a new face

"He's ginger" he said with a small smile, fumbling with the baby's hand  
"Guess he won't need to worry too much about hair dye" you joked, your arms crossed in front of you chest, a small laugh coming out of your lips as you remembered how many times you had to help you child's father dye his hair, Michael looked at you with a smirk while Karen fell into a fit of laughers

You stood there, watching the scene, Joshua was a mini version of Michael, from the familiar nose to the intense green eyes and a high pitched giggle that sounded exactly like Michael's.  
________________________________________

When it was around 9PM, you excused yourself going to the baby's room to start fixing his crib, turning on his baby monitor. Not long after you finished putting away all of his toys, Michael followed you to the upstairs bedroom, the kid sleeping with his head on his shoulder, he looked even smaller on his dad's arms

"He hum... Fell asleep as soon as I took his from the walker so..." he explained, he held the kid in a very protective way, and you felt a sting in your heart, remembering how many times you wished this happened every night

"Okay..." You said, going to pick him, but Michael stopped you his bottom lip trapped between his teeth   
"Would you... Would you mind if I... Put him to sleep?" his voice faltered not louder than a whisper, you trusted Michael, but this whole interest in the kid made you uncertain, the only person who you'd let do this for you was Calum, but you let him do it anyway

He positioned the kid on his crib, covering the baby he noticed the stuffed animals, seeing that most of them were stuffed puppies, his face fell into a sad façade  
"Cal?" He questioned again and you nodded, you felt like you should warn him that most of the thing in the baby's room was provided by Calum, how he insisted to build the crib when you were 6 months into the pregnancy, how he flooded the kid's wardrobe with baby-vests from his favorite bands and how he gave all the winter clothing Joshua needed

After finishing putting your little boy to bed you both left the room, letting the door half opened half closed

When you started to make your way down the stairs, you felt a hand around your arm, stopping you from joining Karen and Daryl in the living room; you turned to see a crying Michael, your instinct telling you to hold the boy the same way you do when yours was crying. You put your arms around Michael, your hand coming to his hair, small sobs falling from his mouth, his hands on your back hiding his face on your shoulder

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here" he said in a cracking voice; you didn't reply, just let him say whatever he had to. After a few moments of apologies and new promises you and Michael went down stairs, Karen telling you how they needed to go because it was late and you probably needed some rest, you agreed and walked them to the door, giving a small kiss on their cheeks, and hugging Michael. 

You closed the door and rest your back against it, when you hear a familiar voice coming from the other side 

"Hey Cal... I just... I came to visit Josh" you could hear him saying, he already using the kid’s nickname  
"I just wanted to thank you".  
Your eyes filled with tears, you didn't want to keep Michael away from his child, but then again, he never showed an interest to be part of his life, and now listening him talking with Calum, who was your personal guardian-angel, crushed your heart.

________________________________________

Weeks passed since the first time Michael visited Joshua, the whole band went to their Australian leg of the tour having a small break after a few concerts, you were spending the weekend in Calum's place, because he insisted he needed to see 'his little boy', you loved going to Calum’s house, everything seemed easier whenever you stepped into the house

"Cal! Wait! I need to put sunscreen on him!" you laughed remembering him that your son wasn't very keen on getting a tan, he sat at the pool's edge, placed the kid that was giggling on lap, a big grin displayed on his face. You kneeled beside him, your hands holding a small sunscreen container in your hands; you covered Joshua's little body, Calum laughing at the kids small protests.

"No one needs sunscreen" Calum said, he knew you had an obsession with sunscreen and always reminded everyone how important sunscreen is; you chuckled, with your hands still full of the cream you spread it on Calum's arms, his face contorting into a fake scowl. The little boy left a small sound fall from his lips, making grabby hands to the water.  
You both laughed at the kid's reaction, your eyes lingering into Calum's, a small smile on your lips. You jumped when the doorbell rang, Calum turning his face to the sounds direction; you picked Joshua in your arms, going to sit in the shadow, fixing your one-piece in your body.  
You heard Calum answering the door, a chat being established. You could hear the voice following Calum's, him and his friend stopping by the doorstep, looking at the boy's big backyard.   
Joshua was staring to get restless, his whining becoming too loud. Calum came closer to you, Michael appeared from behind him, a confused look on his face, the kid noticed his uncle's presence, now turning in your lap, gesturing that he wanted to go with the tanned boy

"Dada!" his little voice formed, both you and Calum getting shocked, this being the first word he said after being able to say 'Mama', Michael's posture stiffened, his face not displaying any emotion  
Calum took little Josh on his arms, trying to hide his big smile

“I-I’m not your dada buddy…” he stuttered, your eyes falling into the recent bleached boy’s one, you could see his sadness, like he was wishing to be the one holding the baby, the one who was always around

“You’re more his father than I am” he joked, trying to light up the mood with a hard truth, you knew it was true, Calum knew it was true, and Michael had just put it out there. You looked down, your hands on your lap; Calum excused himself with the baby to take a swim, Michael pulled a chair and sat beside you.  
None of you started a talk, the silence being the best option.

________________________________________

The small wall-clock showed it was almost 5PM got you aware that your kid needed a little break from the intense sun, calling Calum he took the kid out of the sun, sitting with him in a small shadow on the grass, a small talk between them being 90% giggles and 10% baby talk from Calum’s part, you watched the two boys play, and you couldn’t help but think that that could be something, a sigh fell from your lips

“Are you happy?” Michael asked; his eyes watching you with curiosity, his usual sparkly eyes were now filled with a recurrent sadness, you breathed in

“Yes, I’m very happy…” you said, you wanted to tell him all the mistletoes he missed from his boy’s life, but it didn’t feel like it was his boy. He nodded, his hands coming to his hair, his face stuck in a thinking façade

“Are you happy Michael?” you asked him, since the break up you haven’t heard a thing about Michael, the only news you had from the boy being the ones that had a relation to Calum’s, he didn’t moved as if he had stopped breathing

“…yeah” he said with a whisper, and you knew that he was lying, even being apart for a long time, you could still see past him.  
Michael didn’t seem to know what to do, when you first told him that you were pregnant the first thing he did was question you about it, if you were 100% sure that you were indeed pregnant, then he turned a bit angry almost as if he was frustrated, and after ignoring him for a straight week he finally came back to the Michael you once dated, understanding the whole situation and telling you that if you needed anything you could count on him.   
You never asked him to do anything, you did your share and told him when you had appointments and what they were about, but the one who showed up was Calum, he made sure to send the baby random toys, and little souvenirs he made sure it was something the kid would like, and Michael was right, Calum was more Joshua`s father than he was.

While you thought about the kid and the boy in front of you, the pale boy turned to you, biting his bottom lip

“Did you… hum… was the whole pregnancy okay?” at the question your head turned to face him, when you were about to speak, Calum took the lead shooting a small “Oh god it wasn’t” making you remember how you did had some problems during your pregnancy, things that were bad for you

“Sorry, it’s just that… I… remember some stuff” the boy completed, realizing how he sounded, and once again you could see how Michael had lost any interest to actually know anything about the whole situation, you turned to him, completing his thoughts, explaining what he meant trying to sparkle-up the interest again

“Well during the 7th month I had a hard time with pain and a bit with eating, it was a small sacrifice but in the end everything was okay and Josh was born healthy and after three days in the hospital we were cleared to go home” you tried to not place Calum in the whole story, wanting to make Michael see that there was still time to make it up to the kid.

________________________________________

Calum was still playing with Joshua, nodding at every word you said in a discrete way; Michael’s eyes followed your stare, his chest up and rising in an exasperated movement, it was like he was getting something that wasn’t being expressed and was getting annoyed by it. His eyes now filled with a feeling that you couldn’t read it. 

The little kid looking at Calum with a huge grin that made you smile to yourself, you and Calum never tried anything, you thought you still had feelings for the kid’s father, and having him back in your life was making you even more confused.

The afternoon ended, you were getting Joshua ready to go to bed; Calum had a little crib he bought just for these occasions, he made sure to place the crib in the guest room you always used whenever you two went to his house. After getting into your pajamas you did your way to the living room, Calum nowhere to be seen, Michael flipping through channels.  
You sat in the opposite side of the couch in front of the TV, not glancing at Michael, being in an empty room with him made you feel weird and you weren’t enjoying the situation, his green eyes burning in the side of your face, he slowly made his way closer to you, turning down the TV’s volume, his arm going around you

“What are you doing?” you said in an annoyed voice, your heart beating faster betraying your mind making yourself smaller against him, you tried to get up and go to your room, but Michael’s arm stopped you from doing it so

“I missed you” he said in a small voice, his fingers coming to caress your cheek; you felt his hand burn against your skin, his lips wandering against your neck, you sighed, even you tried to deny, you knew he still could get under your skin.

Everything happened too fast and before you could actually react, his lips were being pressed against yours, but it didn’t feel right, your whole body going against the action, you pushed him away

“Michael, no” you whined, he was still holding you tight, not letting you escape his grasp.  
He tried one again to connect your lips

“Michael, stop! You can’t just kiss me and hope everything will be okay!” you yelled, regretting right after when you heard a soft whine come from the baby’s bedroom, wishing this wouldn’t trigger a full crying

“What you want me to do?!” Michael replied, frustration filling his voice, the well known sparkle coming back to his eyes, as if there was actually something he could do

“Nothing Michael, you… you and me, that doesn’t exist anymore. The only reason I’m letting you to stick around is because I’m giving you the chance to make it up to Joshua…” your words hitting him hard, you got up and left the room, not wanting to hear whatever Michael could say to reject your confession. Calum stepped into the room, shooting daggers into Michael, you made your way to the last room in the hallway, letting the door half opened, half closed.

________________________________________

Calum paced around the living room, his anger reaching fatal levels as Michael told him what happened earlier, his friend watching him, not a world being proffered, you couldn’t let this go any more further, not when the little boy was trying to sleep, fixing your pajamas, you did your way to the room they were in, ready to chime in and stop the whole discussion they started when a particular sentence hit your ears

“Just because he’s your blood doesn’t mean you’re the father, at least not in the way you should!” Calum said louder than he expected, your heart skipped a beat and you could hear Michael’s gasp, not moving further you continued to listen Calum’s rant

“When you reappeared it drove her insane Michael! You didn’t even called her during her pregnancy, and you think that just because you decided to visit him after a whole year after he was born will make everything you didn’t do fade, you’re so wrong!” he said without even breathing, his tone rising

“And why you care?” the pale boy responded, not aware of all the things Calum has done for you, or the things he considered doing for you and your little boy, your heart aching because of his true words. It wasn’t a surprise but listen from outside showed you a new perspective you weren’t fully aware that was an actual option

“Because you screwed up, Mikey you screwed up bad, you’re ruining her” you could hear his voice softening, his usual caring side taking over again  
You finally reached the living room, the sight of Michael and Calum filling your eyes, as they both turned to face you, you didn’t know what to say or what to do, guilt falling in your shoulders when you saw how the kid’s father looked sad, you made your way near Calum, standing behind him while you gently told Michael he could see Joshua on Thursday, his expression turning into a grimace of pain taking this as an invitation to leave, not wanting to let the boy go home like that you made your way to him, Calum’s eyes watched you, his arms crossed in front of his still exposed chest. You let your arms reach around Michael, as his instinctively held you tight against him. 

________________________________________

The weekend ended and you were driving home, little Joshua mumbling small words in the backseat that made you happy, the song in the radio softly filling the air around you.  
It was a Monday morning and the street were empty as you pulled into your drive way, the air in your lungs being knocked out when you saw a tall figure standing in front of your door, Michael was pressed against the wall, scrolling through his phone. You didn't know what to do, after the awkward discussion in the weekend you thought he was going straight into hating you, and maybe he did.

You turned the car off, not moving for a moment trying to calm yourself down, the stress already filling your head. In a quick movement you got out of the car and went to take Joshua out of his seat, Michael coming closer to you

"I got him" he said, taking the kid in his arms, not even bothering to greet you, before you could say a word he was already walking back to the front-door

The rage inside you built up quickly, getting Joshua's things, you locked the car and did your way to Michael, not enjoying his presence.  
With a scowl you approached him, your eyes not meeting his.

You opened the house, clearing passage to Michael enter the place, your heart pounding as you wanted to take the kid in your arms, and hold it and never let go. It's not like you were against Michael having a bit of time with the baby boy, but you didn't have any information about his life right now, scared you let the whole scene develop. Michael stayed silent; ignoring you he made his way to Joshua's room, you followed him protesting, but he said nothing and that made you even angrier at him. He placed the baby back in his crib, quickly opening drawers and the closet, you ran up to him, stopping him from continuing whatever he was doing. He grabbed your arms tightly earning whimpers from you

“Michael stop!” you protested, your hands coming to punch his chest and having no effect whatsoever

Trying to get out of his tight grasp you squirmed, his hands holding you even tighter the more you fought against him

“Michael!” you screamed loud enough to make your baby cry, both of you turned to him with alarmed faces. He finally let you go, his hands printed in a strong red against your skin, Joshua little arms were raised, begging for your motherly embrace.

Michael continued what he was doing, finding the baby’s bag; he rapidly filled the little bag with clothes and dippers and anything he would find. Noticing the fuss behind you, you turned to see the boy moving closer to you

“He’s going to spend the rest of the week with me” he say in a loud tone, that made you wince, wishing your kid wouldn’t start crying again

“No he’s not” you retorted, you were more than pissed at Michael and all you wanted was him out of your sight

His shoulders tensed at your response, his eyes piercing through you, his posture becoming intimidating, but not getting the effect he wanted  
“You will leave my house in this same instant or…” you started, say through gritted teeth

“Or what?” his tone stained with a smirk, a devilish smile finding its way to his face

“Or I will call the police and you will never see Joshua again” you threatened, hoping he would leave you alone. His smile fell and his eyes lost the evil sparkle, his parent-side showing, not wanting to let the kid go. He slowly placed the bag on the floor, the feeling of relief filling your chest, your arms starting to ache; it would surely leave some marks.

You knew you wouldn’t have the heart to actually do that but the option was flooding your mind now that he was back and nothing was going as you expected. The perfect family stereotype was already out of your life expectations, but having to go through this wasn’t also in your plans. He started to make his way out of the house, your anger finally subsiding, tears rolling down your cheek as you tried to wipe them out as fast as you could not wanting to let the boy see them.

He opened the entrance door in a slow movement, you followed him until he was out of your home. Turning to you, he displayed a rage filled façade, his eyes burning you  
“I’m taking this to court” he said in a calm tone that betrayed his entire posture, you stiffened, gasping loud enough to make the sleeping toddler in your arms to stir.

Regret was falling into your shoulder as you closed the door and made your way to the living room, grabbing the telephone you paced around the room. If he was indeed going to take this to court you didn’t have a chance against him, he clearly could afford better lawyers than you could, the idea of calling Calum flashing in your mind, was this asking too much? He had already given you more than you could ask for, and maybe asking for his help in this would just push him away. 

You set the telephone back in the small table next to the couch, chewing your bottom lip you let your tears fall again, this kid meant the world to you and the thought of letting someone else also take care of him while you weren’t around scared you.  
You cursed under your breath, all you have done for this baby, since day one you loved him more than you could ever love someone else. Your heart ached, your want to call Calum becoming too much, but you restrained yourself. This was something you had to do alone, for you and Joshua at any cost, you were going to keep you baby boy.

________________________________________

All you could hear was screams and you knew you deserved them. You sat by the kitchen counter watching the boy pace around it, almost dizzy you decided to just stare the floor under you. Calum was full on giving you a lecture on how you should always count on him, his words hitting you hard while you slowly nodded 

“You have to understand that this is why I’m here, I’m here for you, for Joshua for… I’m just here”  
His voice coming back to a regular tone, taking a deep breath he ran his hand thought his dark hair. After having to squeeze what was happening out from out, he immediately got angry, not believing you would even hesitate asking him for anything, and his rage against Michael rose, got even stronger.

His eyes saddened, softly biting your lip you sustained his stare waiting for the rest of the sentence. He sighed, moving closer to you, making you get up from your seat, wrapping his arms around you and you felt like he was your safe point, if the world was ending he would probably be there and make you feel like it was a regular Saturday morning.  
You two stayed there until you heard Joshua’s soft giggles coming from the other room, instantly making you smile against Calum chest

“Thank you Cal” you mumbled loosening your arms around him. You tried to let go and leave the room, but you couldn’t, and he thought the same.

If you tried to deny you could make yourself believe that you didn’t have any feelings from the boy, but deep down you knew. He could be more than a friend, he had always been there for you, and now even when you thought you were asking more than you could he proved you wrong

His hands came to hold you by your waist, like he had done a million times before. In a quick moment his lips were pressed against yours, the world stopped and you forgot how to breathe. It was just a small kiss nothing too intense, but it got a full hurricane in your stomach. 

He stared at deeply into your eyes as if he was waiting for a rejection, your cheeks burned red, a small laugh leaving your mouth, he let you go with a faint smile his shyness appearing.

You turned your attention to your baby boy, his giggles earning a soft laugh from you,   
placing the baby on your lap as you sat in the floor, holding him tight against you.  
Calum watched the scene from the kitchen, his arms crossed in front of his chest, biting the inside of his cheek like he always did when he was thinking, you innocently smiled up at him, his lips forming a small one.

He took a deep breath, he was doing that a lot lately and you wished you knew how to help him, because whenever you two talked it seemed to be only about you and Joshua, it’s not like you two didn’t talk about his problems either, every time he needed to rant about something you would gladly listen to it, even when he was on tour and had to call you at 2AM in your time-zone so he could tell you about what happened, or when he was in LA recording and you two would Skype and you had to remind him to go to bed, but for some reason you felt like these past weeks have been only about you, his little gasp brought you back to reality

“What if I adopted Joshua?” he said scratching his neck, your heart started to pound fast in a unhealthy way, adrenaline rushing through your veins, your mouth fell agape, no words coming out

“I-I mean, if you’re okay with it… I… I’d like to do that if you let me” he mumbled stumbling on his own words, his eyes insecure.  
After Michael decided to come-back into your life, you got even closer to Calum, in your thoughts you’ve pictured the perfect family many times and the closer you got to that was with Calum, you’ve fallen in love with him and getting to have him around made you feel like you were on cloud nine, and this whole thing sounded way too perfect to be true

“What?” your voice low as a whisper, his eyes fell to the ground as he struggled to form his next sentence, trying to figure it out what to do, he moved closer to you, quickly sitting in front of Joshua who were now making grabby hands at him, he laughed at the kid, his eyes squinting as a genuine smile took over his face, your chest was moving fast as you tried to control your breathing and the whole storm inside your body

“Cal, are you serious? Like, dead serious?” you asked intently watching him turn his gaze to you, his face now taken by a glow that you have never seen before  
“Yes. I mean, I like you, you like me, I hope, and we can do this, we can… we can take care of this little guy here and…” you couldn’t believe the words that were falling from his lips, all your surrounds faded as you stared at him

“Yes! I… Yes Cal!” you almost screamed, his hands coming to the back of your neck, pulling you closer to him, his forehead touching yours as he smiled and giggled.

________________________________________

The doorbell rang, it was too early; not even your little baby was giving off signs of being awake, you cursed under your breath, a little laughed came from the other side of the bed, you turned to see a sleepy Calum smiling at your reaction, his hands stuffed under the pillow, his pajama shirt hugging his body perfectly. After making plans for the next 10 years you invited him to spend the night. It was the first time you had woken up beside him, and you loved.  
Another wave of bells echoed through the house, you rushed downstairs, opening the front door to go face first with the mailman, he apologized for coming too early, handing the mail to you.  
You took all the envelops, most of them being bills, until you saw a fully white one, black block letters marked the name of a lawyer and your heart skipped a beat, you swallowed hard and made your way to your bedroom, sitting softly on your side you tried to open it without making too much noise, it was fair to say that you succeeded until you started to read the first lines, it was Michael’s intimation to court, he was actually asking for the kids guard and you couldn’t help but let a loud gasp fall from your mouth as you finished reading the letter. And you cursed ever letting all this happen, you started to hate the colored haired boy, tears started to roll down your cheeks, your perfect life being ruined before it had even started. 

Listening to the baby monitor, you got up when you realized Joshua had woken up, wiping away the tears you made your way to the little boy’s room, his little figure standing up on his crib, his covered tummy displaying the saying “I’m too punk for this” made you cry loudly, his little hair spiked up going to every direction, his little cheeks rosy as he jumped up and down, you didn’t want to lose this, your little boy, with your heart aching you took the boy in your arms holding him tight   
“I’m not going to let him take you from me, okay?” 

________________________________________

Tapping your foot on the titles you and Calum waited for the Judge to start the session, Michael stood with his lawyer, dressed in a tuxedo, his face not displaying any emotion, he and the man with him exchanging a few whispers that got Michael nodding.  
Joshua was with a babysitter you hired for the day, not really knowing when this would end, Calum noticed your restless state

“Calm down, everything will be okay” he whispered to you, his hand coming to intertwine your fingers with his.

Michael wasn’t aware of you and Calum’s new relationship, but he had suspicions and this wasn’t a shocker for him, not after you gave birth.  
Your own lawyer tried to calm you down, but you didn’t know what to expect, fear was taking over your head and even when you tired to calm down a little voice in started to fill you with ‘what ifs’.

________________________________________

The Judge started the session, calling you and Michael in front of him, saying that he expected to find the best home for the kid and that since you were never married it could take a while to actually hand the final verdict.  
You were cold sweating, lightheaded and probably at the verge of fainting, breathing irregularly and heavy. This could be the more horrible day of your life and you were already predicting the worse.

After clearing you and Michael to go back to your positions, the middle-aged man conducting the session started to ask the lawyers questions and evidences.

“Evidences?” you asked, your heart started to beat faster and your eyes fill with tears, say that you were panicking was an understatement  
“Don’t worry, I’ve got everything covered” the lawyer reassured you while you turned to see the little boy who was the reason of all this, his little hand against the babysitter’s chest, his light green pacifier moving while he slept.   
After a few hours the Judge called you and Michael to the front again, saying that the jury needed a 15 minutes break to get to the verdict.

Going to the hall, you made your way to Michael, your eyes spilling tears full of anger

“How could you do this?!” you asked him in a loud tone, heads turning to watch the two of you, his eyes shot daggers into your skull

“You gave me no choice!” he retorted as loud as you, the curious eyes around you starting to pay more attention, more tears were rolling down your face, if you once loved the man in front of you, saying that you now hated him just wasn’t enough

“You disgust me Clifford” you spat, not bothering to listen what he had to say, having enough of this, you found Calum, he had Joshua on his lap, entertaining the kid with one of his toys, his happy figure went against the whole chaos inside you but that didn’t hold back the smile that was now on your lips, you sighed in relief

“Hey babe, what’s going on?” your whole body melting beside him at the nickname, your smile grew, you having to remind yourself that you could now kiss his soft lips; doing it so, he kissed you back and as he did you felt a stare crossing you two. In between the whole mess you forgot to let Michael know what was going on, even if you felt like he was just trying to get to you, he was the father of your kid and he had a fair share on knowing who was going to stick around his son. Calum and you turned to see a red-angry Michael, killing you both with his death glare, chewing on his bottom lip; you were sure that he was tasting blood, and as a savior the secretary came to the hall and called you all inside to continue the session. 

Once everyone found their spots, the aged Judge took a breath, finally proclaiming to whom Joshua’s guard belonged  
“And what was the jury decision?” he asked in a emotionless voice, his big eyes boring in the jury’s direction, a woman stood up   
“The jury have decided that the kid should stay with his mother” her words falling in a quick sentence as all the air was knocked out of your lungs, all your worries fading, still not allowed to fully celebrate the judge kept talking  
“… the father will be allowed visits and weekends that will be written down in a contract that must be followed; if in any matters the mother turns incapable of maintain the kid or show any sign of aversion to it the guard will be immediately given to his dad.” His eyes reading the whole thing from a stack of papers placed on his stool.

You captured Michael’s defeated figure being patted on his back by his lawyer, he nodded his head; you approached him, pulling him into a hug

“I’m sorry” you said to him, his eyes watery making your heart ache, you never wanted this, you wanted this to work out, he didn’t need to be with you 24/7 but you wanted him to be part of his sons life, that was what you always wanted, he let you go, mumbling a sorry himself, dropping the whole act he was putting on and finally coming back to himself, the Michael you wanted to be around with. Calum appeared behind you, his hand on the boy’s shoulder, you had forgotten how this two were best friends and hoped this wouldn’t interfere in their friendship  
“Hey, be good to my kid” the pale boy joked, and you couldn’t help but to smile up at him.

________________________________________

There were you, one year later, Calum’s hand cupping your face as the other rubbed on your bloated stomach, his smile still stealing your breath  
“Hey there little girl” he talked with your bump, after adopting Joshua under Michael’s consent, you and him decided to make something good out of you two and now you were 6 months into your pregnancy, Joshua was almost 4 years old and loved the idea of having someone to play with.

You and he sprawled on the couch, while Calum, who had now fully moved in, talked with your unborn child, soft giggles falling from your mouth; after mumbling a few sweet nothings to your belly and answering Joshua’s question such as “why are you doing this if she can’t hear you?” he looked into your eyes, sitting next to you he turned his attention to the red haired kid  
“Hey Josh, can you do that thing?” he asked the kid with a wink, you turned to Joshua with a confused expression  
“What thing?” you asked poking his arm, making him giggle by your actions his laugh still made your heart skip a beat and you thought with yourself when did he got so big; taking you away from your daydream he ran to his room, you tried to follow him with your eyes but your belly didn’t let you turn fully like before, while you distracted yourself trying to hear what the thing could possibly be, Calum got up, pulling you with him, when you were on your feet he kneeled in front of you and Joshua appeared behind him with a small guitar, strumming a few misplaced chords he started to move his little body along with the song that he was trying to play, your heart pounding your smile as big as possible, continuing Calum took your hands  
“I know it might be too soon or not, I don’t know, I never know…” he started tripping over his own words, ‘this is so Calum’ you thought with yourself, Joshua now strumming anything that came on his mind  
“Anyways, I just wanted to know if you would give me the honor of being my wife. Would you marry me?” he asked more calm; a small box with a ring on it made your eyes fill with happy tears, a rushed yes coming out more like a scream. Joshua gasped out loud in excitement running over to you, dropping in little guitar on the couch before hugging your legs and saying a small “thank you”, you laughed at his reaction  
“Thank you for what silly?” you said ruffling his hair  
“Cal said, that if you said yes we could get a kitten” he said happily against your skin, Calum shrugged his shoulders, he stood up, kissing you softly he put the ring on your finger whispering “we would get a kitten anyway” and you couldn’t help but smile even wider.

You had never expected this to be your perfect family, but you did, after a few years of struggling you finally got it, and you wouldn’t have any other way, and you couldn’t be more prouder of your little family than you were right now.  
Two weeks later Calum had to leave for tour, his promise to always be there for you still valid as you saw him travel the whole world with his best friends, living his dream and always coming back to you and your little perfect family.

**Author's Note:**

> If you read everything, a huge thank you, and please tell me what are your thoughts on it? Again, a huge thank you for reading, you're all pure gold.


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